INS Kesari will deliver consignments of coronavirus-related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to the Maldives.
The Centre has deployed Indian Naval Ship Kesari with medical assistance teams and essential medicines in the southern Indian Ocean Region to help nations deal with the novel coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.
"Responding to their requests for assistance in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Government of India has sent Indian Naval Ship Kesari to Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles, carrying on board two medical assistance teams, consignments of COVID-19 related essential medicines and essential food items," the MEA said in a press release.
The medical assistance teams will be deployed in Mauritius and Comoros, helping their governments deal with coronavirus-related emergencies and dengue fever in case of Comoros. A team of select medical personnel was also dispatched to the Maldives to assist Maldivian government.
"The ship will deliver consignments of coronavirus-related essential medicines to Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros and Seychelles and about 600 tonnes of food items to the Maldives," the release said, adding that a special consignment of Ayurvedic medicines has been sent for Mauritius.
Additionally, the government has sent Hydroxychloroquine tablets to Madagascar and Comoros.
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Meanwhile, INS Jalashwa, carrying 698 repatriated Indian citizens from the Maldives, arrived at the Kochi harbour on May 10 morning, completing the Indian Navy's first massive evacuation exercise from foreign soil during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Inspector General of Police Vijay Sakhare said all arrangements are in place to facilitate the safe stay of those repatriated, comprising 440 Keralites and people from other parts of the country. Four passengers are from Lakshadweep.
Besides these, other passengers are from Tamil Nadu (187), Telangana (9), Andhra Pradesh (8), Karnataka (8), three each from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, and one each from Goa and Assam.
There are seven passengers each from Uttarakhand and West Bengal, Delhi (4), Puducherry (3), while there are two passengers each from Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
(With inputs from PTI)
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